Lost!
by laohero7
Summary: A man appears claiming to know where Sai is. Then Hikaru disappears. Akira goes in search of him, and got lost himself...
1. I know where Sai is

**Chapter 1: I know where Sai is**

"I'm sorry, Hikaru, I've got a really bad headache. I don't think I can come to the salon today. And I think I need to rest in order to be ready for our game this Friday."

"It's alright. I'll see you on Friday, Akira. Bye."

Hikaru switched off his cell phone, and sighed lightly to himself. He had looked forward to having a casual game with Akira in their good old Go salon. They are both superstars in the Go world, with Hikaru bagging the Honinbou, Kisei titles while Akira has the Meijin and Ouza. With their incredibly busy match schedules, it has been difficult for them to find time for their friendly matches at the Go salon.

Not having anything else to do for the day, Hikaru was about to go home, when a man suddenly approach him.

"Hello Shindou Honinbou. My name is Kiyoshi Morimoto. Can I have a game with you?"

Hikaru studied the man in front of him curiously. He looked like he was in his thirties. Tall, dark, and skinny, and nothing much out of ordinary. Except for his eyes. Hikaru did not know how to describe them - they appeared to belong to an old man... a really really old man who had been through a lot in life.

"Erm... sure. How many stones would you like to put down?" It is not uncommon for Go fans to approach Hikaru for a teaching game, and he is happy to oblige when he has the time.

"Well... this is our first game. Let's nigiri to determine who starts first."

Hikaru was slightly taken aback. This man clearly knew who he is. To come up to the Honinbou title holder and ask for an even game is almost unheard of. Hikaru tried to recall if he had ever seen the man before - in a tournament, or in the newspapers - but to no avail. Not wanting to be rude, he agreed, and grabbed a handful of stones.

"I'm black". The man said, without any emotion, and placed his first stone.

Hikaru responded. Almost instantly, his opponent made his next move. And for the next 20 moves, Kiyoshi had placed them down without any delay, as if in a great hurry. Hikaru found himself getting annoyed.

"Hey... we are not playing speed Go here. You can take some time to consider your move."

"That's alright. You can take your time. I am rather in a hurry, as you can see."

Now Hikaru was really annoyed. "Who does this guy think he is? Let me teach him a lesson." And with that thought, Hikaru started to attack his opponent's territory... 

* * *

"I resign..." muttered a shell-shocked Hikaru 2 hours later. If they had been keeping time, the clock would have shown that Kiyoshi had taken just 5 minutes. "Who are you?" Hikaru cannot help but ask.

"You will know soon enough. But let me first tell you something that should be of interest to you." the man replied, almost mischievously. "I know where Sai is."


	2. Lost!

**Chapter 2: Lost!**

Honinbou title match: Game 1

Title holder: Shindou Hikaru, 8-Dan, Honinbou, Kisei

Challenger: Touya Akira, 8-Dan, Meijin, Ouza

This was the game that everyone had been looking forward to. The 2 rising stars of the Go world had played several matches, but have not faced each other in a title match. But it had been no conincidence that Akira had chosen to focus his energies on the Honinbou title this year. For Hikaru had pursued the Honinbou with a passion - and Akira wanted to reignite that passion in his title challenge.

_Which title is your favourite, Hikaru?_

_Why, the Honinbou, of course! _

There was only 1 problem - Hikaru was nowhere to be seen. And Akira was more upset than anyone else.

"The time is up. I award game 1 to..." the announcer began.

"Wait! Let me call him one more time!" Akira was frantically pressing the buttons on his cell phone now. But he simply got the same answering machine.

Akira was awarded a walkover, but he was in no mood to celebrate.

* * *

"Hello, this is the Shindou residence." Shindou Akari picked up the phone.

"Hi Akari, this is Akira. Have you seen Hikaru at all for the past 2 days?"

"No. He called from the Go Salon saying that he had something important to attend to... and he won't be back for a few days." replied Akari, almost wistfully. "Has something happened?"

"Hikaru did not show up for our title match. What could possibly be more important than that?"

"Is that so? I remember now, Hikaru did mention to me an upcoming match with you. And he was so looking forward to it - he even said that no one, not even you, can take away his Honinbou title. Oh dear, is he in some trouble?"

"Don't worry, Akari, I will find him."

_I don't want to play Go anymore..._

Suddenly, memories of the days when Hikaru almost gave up Go surfaced in his mind. Determined to find Hikaru, Akira set off for the Go salon.

* * *

"Why on Earth would Hikaru follow a stranger to this deserted place?" Akira stood at the edge of a dense forest, muttering to himself. After making several enquiries, he found out from a street hawker that Hikaru was seen walking towards the forest with a tall, thin man. No one had recognized the stranger or seen him before. But a few customers at the Go salon recalled that Hikaru had lost a friendly game to that man.

"That was unbelievable!" recounted one "Shindou sensei always gave at least a 3-stone handicap and played at a leisurely pace with us. Not only did that man not ask for a handicap, but he also placed down his stones without thinking. Shindou sensei was chasing the game really hard, but eventually he was forced to resign."

_I encounter a wall higher than the one I felt when I played Shindou_

"Sai... it must be Sai! I am convinced that Hikaru's previous no-show had to do with Sai. Although Sai has not showed up for a long time, this man must have something to do with him. I must find Shindou and make him tell me the truth."

With that thought, Akira set foot into the forest.

* * *

"Hey, this tree looked like the same one I walked past about an hour ago. Gee, am I walking in circles?" Akira started to get worried after having walked for 2 hours without seeing anything else except lots of trees. Yet, he had a strong feeling that Hikaru is somewhere in the woods, though he could not say why.

"There is something very strange about this part of the woods... the trees look too artificial, like they have been laid out in a grid. Perhaps I should retrace my steps." Akira turned around, and walked for another half an hour. He got back to the same tree! Almost in a panic now, he started to run. But no matter which direction he took off, he would cover only a moderately short distance before coming back to the same tree. Finally, he sat down under the tree, hungry, thirsty, and very tired. He stared at the tree, and could almost feel it staring back, almost mocking him in defiance. Suddenly, Akira was overwhelmed by exhaustion, and he dozed off into a deep sleep.


	3. Sai

**Chapter 3: Sai**

Akira had never encountered a Tsumego like this one. The puzzle was made up of over 200 Go stones, spread across almost the entire board. Simple Tsumego puzzles consist of about 10 stones, whereas the more complicated ones may involve 50-60 stones. But none had ever been so complex as this, nor as intriguing.

Even more amazing, however, was the way the puzzle was presented. Akira was left speechless when he first saw it. Wandering around randomly in the forest, he was drawn to a distant clearing with a mysterious bright object in the middle of it. Walking closer, he saw that the white light came from multiple emeralds suspended in air. And then he noticed the darker sapphires alongside the white emeralds, glowing with a faint blue light. The stones were not random, however, but had a strangely familiar pattern to them. Akira stared at the stones for some time before suddenly realizing that they belonged to a Go game in progress, laid on an imaginary Go board. The stunning beauty of the gems prevented Akira from noticing it earlier.

Akira, however, was quickly drawn into the game. As he analyzed the positions, it became increasingly implausible to him that the arrangement could have arisen from a normal game. It felt liked someone had deliberately placed the stones in those position. And then it dawned on Akira that this must be a puzzle, an exceedingly complicated Tsumego.

White was clearly dominating the game. It was threatening the Black territory in the corner, and poised to cut off the Black dragon in the middle. However, the remaining possibilites are so numerous that it was impossible to conclude a defeat for Black yet. In attempting to surround the Black dragon, White exposed itself on the left side. But could Black take advantage of the weakness in time to save its dragon?

Akira pondered these possiblities and more. He finally decided on a course of action for Black. Magically, a sapphire appeared in the position where he decided to make his move. "White" responded almost instantly. In a few moves, Akira realized that his plan was hopeless - there was no way for Black to save both its corner and the dragon at the same time, and the loss of either meant certain defeat. Akira abandoned his train of thought, and the stones resumed their original formation.

10 attempts later, Akira was no closer to the solution. The invisible hand that was playing White seemed to anticipate his every move, cutting them off almost effortlessly. Akira did not give up; his failures drove him to become even more determined to solve it. Something compelled him to do so, as if his life depended on it.

Then he saw it - by abandoning both the dragon and the corner, and attack the White territory on the left decisively, he would more than make up for the loss. Akira placed 1 quick move after another, and after about 5 moves, all the emeralds suddenly turned into sapphires. It appeared to be White's way of saying "I resign".

* * *

"Gosh, that was a strange dream." Akira sleepily rubbed his eyes, and saw that the sun had just risen. "The game felt so real. It was such a beautiful puzzle - I will have to show it to Hikaru. But first, I have to get out of here."

Akira realized he was lying down beneath the tree that he kept returning to when he got lost. He looked around, and saw that the trees around him were arranged almost in a perfect grid.

"That is really strange. Why did I not notice it yesterday?"

And then he saw it - a string of pebbles pointing forward.

"Well, then, let me follow them. I have nothing to lose."

Akira started to walk in the direction indicated by the pebbles. It was easy to keep to a single direction, since the trees were in a grid. 30 minutes later, however, he returned to the same tree again.

"This is impossible. I am certain I walked in a straight line."

As he pondered what to do next, images from his dream suddenly came to him.

"Let me try to recall - where did I place my first move? 13-5? Right, it was at 13-5."

Almost by impulse, he walked forward, counting 13 trees, and then turned right, counting 5 trees. And sure enough, he found another tree, a different one this time, with pebbles pointing to his left.

"Gosh - whoever set this up, he went into a lot of effort to do it! Alright, next move, 11-8..."

* * *

From a distance, Akira could sort of make out 2 people seated at a table. On closer look, Akira almost jumped when he saw that one of them was Hikaru. He called out to him, but Hikaru seemed almost in a trance, and did not respond. And then he noticed the stones on the table, and the tall, thin man seated opposite Hikaru. Apparently, they had been playing Go, and the game was close to reaching the Yose stage.

The game looks bleak for Hikaru. Whichever way he played, he seemed unable to avoid a loss of at least 6.5 moku.

"A fascinating game, no doubt. But why on Earth would Hikaru follow this strange man into the woods to play Go?" Akira looked at Hikaru, hoping to find an explanation, when all of a sudden Hikaru made a move deep into White territory.

Akira gasped. "Hikaru is going in too deep! He will never survive in there!"

That was when he noticed a rustling of the leaves in the distance. He looked up, and saw another figure perched on a tree. It was a man with a tall black hat, long hair that came to his waist, and flowing white robes. Apparently, Akira was not the only one watchin the game.


	4. Introductions

**Chapter 4: Introductions**

Akira studied his fellow spectator for a while. He appeared to be just as absorbed in the game, but he had noticed Akira's approach. As Akira looked up towards him, the man smiled. Akira smiled back, but had no idea who the man is. Though in the midst of the bizarre circumstances that brought him here, Akira learnt to take all strange events in his stride. His attention went back to the game.

He soon understood the reason for Hikaru's rash move. Hikaru was clearly behind, by 6 moku at least. And if he does not encroach into white territory, he had no other hope. White's bastion on the left side looked almost impenetrable, but as Akira tried to predict subsequent moves, he realized the situation was a lot more murky and complicated than he first thought. White had no obvious way to kill off black, but black had no clear path to survival either.

Sure enough, the game was no more decided after a few more moves. But what struck Akira was that while Hikaru pondered each move carefully, his opponent appeared to need almost no time at all. Yet, each white move seemed to struck right where it hurt most. Akira could not think of a better way for white to respond. And after three more moves, Hikaru resigned. Akira sighed lightly.

Suddenly, both Hikaru and his opponent looked up at Akira.

"Touya! What a great surprise! How did you find your way here?" an excited Hikaru ran forward to hug his long time rival. Akira blushed.

Now the tall and thin man also stood up, and extended his hand, "Welcome to my abode, Touya Meijin. I am the God of Go, but you can also call me Kiyoshi Morimoto."

"The God... God of Go?" Akira was about to shake his hand, but froze in surprise. He looked at Hikaru.

"You lie!" Hikaru retorted agitatedly, "How can a God stoop so low as to imprison an innocent man, and resort to such despicable tactics to get me to play."

"Well, who are you to tell a God how to behave, mortal. And before you beat me at Go, you better show me more respect than that." Kiyoshi spoke in a calm voice, seemingly unruffled by what Hikaru just said.

"And who is that?" Akira pointed to the man in white robes, trying to find a way to defuse the situation.

"Tou... Touya, you can see him?" Hikaru appeared mildly shocked.

"Yes I can. What's the matter? He seems friendly, though with a sad expression in his eyes. And he has not spoken yet." All three of them turned to face the man perched on the tree. He raised an arm, as though waving to Akira. But his initial smile was gone, replaced with sadness.

"Touya." Hikaru spoke suddenly, in a solemn voice, as if to begin a major speech, "Touya, have you ever wondered how I could have beaten you at the Go salon in our first game so many years ago, when it seemed clear that I could hardly hold the stones properly. Did you wonder why my strength seemed to fluctuate so greatly, playing like a title holder one moment and then like a novice the next. Have you been speculating about my relationship with Sai, the internet Go legend, who defeated your father in that Earth shattering match. It is now time, Touya, for me to tell you everything."

_Touya, if you keep chasing after my shadow, one day the real me will catch up to you._

Akira stared at Hikaru, brimming with anticipation.

"Touya, let me introduce you to Sai. Fujiwarano Sai."


	5. The unfinished game

**Chapter 5: The unfinished game**

The waterfall is the highest that Akira has ever seen. At its base is a small lake, which shimmered in the evening sunshine. Leaves and flowers rustled lightly in the light breeze. Akira could not help but wonder if he is really in heaven.

"At least the scenery is beautiful here. This is my favorite spot, to get away from the annoying Kiyoshi and comtemplate my strategy." Hikaru sighed, even as he admired the view around him.

"Well... I still found it hard to believe everything that I have seen or heard for the past 2 days." Akira had been in awe ever since he heard Sai's story from Hikaru. Hikaru told him about how he had first met Sai in the old storeroom, about Sai's relationship with Honinbou Shuusaku, about Sai's games with Akira as well as on the internet, and finally about his disappearance. Nothing had been left out.

"Life is so unpredictable! Sai came into my life all of a sudden, and when I started taking him for granted, he disappeared. And now he has reappeared, but I can't even talk to him. I must find a way to beat Kiyoshi soon." Hikaru let out another sigh.

"Will Kiyoshi keep his word to let Sai go if you beat him?" asked Akira.

"Well he better!" exclaimed Hikaru, "He claims he is a God!"

"Do you really think he is a God?"

"He does seem to have some strange powers, like erecting this invisible barrier around Sai that prevents me from reaching him or talking to him. And his Go is almost perfect... yet I keep getting the feeling that he has a weakness somewhere, though I have yet to discover it yet... So no, deep down, I suspect he is just an impostor." Hikaru replied after some thought.

"I feel that he is related to the God of Go in some way, even if he is not a God himself. Bringing you and me here seems to be part of a plan of some grand design." Akira said with conviction. And he continued, after a pause, "Hey, have you played a game with Sai since you came here?"

"There is nothing I want to do more! But that idiot Kiyoshi won't let me get near Sai or even talk to him!" Hikaru replied agitatedly.

"Well, you never know. He may enjoy watching the two of you play. Just ask him."

* * *

"A game? What makes you think I will let you play with him?" said Kiyoshi sarcastically.

" Come on... I have already played so many games with you. And I have been well behaved. Please..." pleaded Hikaru.

"Hmmm... In fact, that may be interesting, to observe how your strength have grown from that time." mused Kiyoshi, "Alright, you may play with Sai."

"Great!" Hikaru jumped into the air with joy. He could see that Sai brightened immediately. "Why don't you let Sai out of his imprisonment, just for a while."

"No no no, don't even think I will do that even for a while, when you have yet to beat me. Sai will communicate through me, and I will place the stones for him." replied Kiyoshi.

"Alright, that is fine with me." Hikaru seemed somewhat disappointed, but then he quickly recovered. He laid out the stones and board eagerly. Sai took a deep breath, and Hikaru thought he could see a tear rolled down his cheek.

The game started at a normal pace, but after the first few moves, it progressed at a blindingly quick pace. Both Hikaru and Sai (played by Kiyoshi) took almost no time at all. Akira watched with amazement, while Kiyoshi appeared bemused. At early mid-game, however, Sai paused for a while, before making his move. And then Hikaru paused.

Hikaru stared at the board. He stared at it for a long, long time.

_It is your turn, Sai..._

And then Hikaru cried. He cried and cried and cried... Akira gasped - he had never seen Hikaru lost control of himself like this. But if he had been at the library in the Go institute on the day Sai disappeared, he would have seen Hikaru cried just liked that.

"Akira." Hikaru started to speak, after he composed himself, "This was the last game I played with Sai. I have been waiting for this move... I have been waiting for 5 years now, Akira."


End file.
